Apple’s New Mothership Plans

Steve Jobs surprised us this summer with another “one last thing”: the plans for the new Apple Campus 2, which everyone thought was really just a sketch. But with $81.57 billion in cash, guess what? Apple is moving forward and recently submitted an updated version of the documents. The City of Cupertino posted the plans on their website and now we have the right to remain silent.

The documents show more detailed plans and give us the chance to imagine how this new campus will look. In a single word: outstanding, just like every new Apple product. And it’s likely from the hand of Steve Jobs himself. At a Cupertino town hall meeting in June to present the project, Jobs said:

It’s a little like a spaceship landed. We’ve used our experience making retail buildings all over the world now, and we know how to make the biggest pieces of glass in the world for architectural use.

Eighty percent of the property will be landscaped (6,000 trees will be planted), most of the parking will be tucked underground, and 13,000 people will work there. First, Apple will have to demolish approximately 2.65 million square feet of office space and R&D buildings (previously owned by HP). The new campus is said to contain:

An office and R&D building comprising approximately 2.8 million square feet;

A 1,000-seat corporate auditorium;

A corporate fitness center;

A central plant;

Research facilities comprising approximately 300,000 square feet located on the east side of Tantau Avenue;

Up to 300,000 square feet of office space for subsequent development.

At the end, this is what the new Apple Campus 2 will look like:

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Here’s Steve Jobs’ Campus presentation in front of Cupertino City Council from June 7, 2011.